I recently read, heard or saw somewhere that Victoria, BC has some of the best bicycling infrastructure in Canada. I also heard the same thing for Montreal, and hope to be there later this year to compare.
However, living on the West Coast, Victoria is much easier for me to get to. I arrive to Victoria, BC by ferry from Seattle. The ferry leaves Seattle at 8am and arrives in Victoria, BC by 11am. I booked the tickets through FRS Clipper.
So, here's my day trip bicycling in Victoria, BC. Once I arrived, I walked across the street to The Pedaler Cycling Tour and Rentals. I didn’t have much of an agenda other than to see as much of Victoria outside of the tourist area as I can.
I rented my bike at The Pedaler Tour and Cycling, which is across the street from where the ferry docked. After I got my bike, I started on Belleville St which turns to Pendray St which quickly turns again to Quebec St, then quickly changes names again to Montreal St only to change its name to Kingston St a block later.
My first stop was Fisherman’s Wharf. I grabbed a quick bite to eat at Barb’s Iconic Fish & Chips. From there, I continued on Dallas Rd. Dallas Rd goes on for quite a ways and there’s no name change. But this entire time, I am on a shared road with drivers. It isn’t until you pass Breakwater Bistro Bar that a separated two-way bike lane emerges. My stress level always drops when I am separated from traffic, especially in a place where I am unfamiliar on how drivers navigate around me on bike.
Eventually I end up a Beacon Hill Park. It’s a large park where you can ride around and just get lost and enjoy the scenery.
From there, I rode up Vancouver St and check out the neighborhood. Vancouver St is a calm street to ride on. The city also built some tactical urbanism designs which prevents drivers from using Vancouver St as a cut through, but does allow bicyclists to continue straight. And that’s exactly what I did.
I rode on Vancouver St until I it hits Pandora Ave. Pandora Ave also has a two-way protected bike lane. The protected bike lanes on Pandora switch between concrete and parking protected. Pandora cuts through Chinatown and Old Town. I made a stop here to visit Fan Tan Alley (a historic and trendy alley in Chinatown) and even though I wasn’t hungry, grabbed an ube pastry from Friends and Family Bake. There’s lots of cafes, shops and restaurants in this area. Unfortunately, I only had one day, so I couldn’t spend more time here. I continued west towards the Johnson Street Bridge.
So, Pandora turns to Johnson St, which then turns into Esquimalt Rd after the bridge.
The intersection right before the bridge might be a bit confusing for someone getting on a bike for the first time. However, if you go straight, the bridge has a separate multi-use path. Once you cross the bridge, you’re given a couple of options on where you want to go. If you head towards the right, you’ll be on a protected bike path that leads you to Galloping Goose trail, which is a rails-to-trails route. If you head left, there’s a multi-use path bridge that goes over Esquimalt Rd. From there, you’re taken to another concrete protected bike lane which dumps you off at Kimta Rd and goes through what I felt a really nice dense neighborhood. I rode along Kimta until I got close to the E & N Rail Trail shortly pass the Trek Bicycle Store.
As for the Galloping Goose trail, I rode towards Saanich Core. It was an amazing and peaceful ride which allowed me to get out of the touristy area of town. Below is a video of a protected bike lane right before I enter Galloping Goose trail.
Because I was only there for a day, or specifically, about 6 hours, I made a u-turn before the Trans Canadian Hwy. I turned around and headed back towards Johnson Street Bridge. Below you can see a video of the multi-use path on the Johnson Street Bridge as I head towards Wharf St.
Once back near downtown Victoria, I rode along Wharf St. Stayed on Wharf and passed Government St. The protected bike lane quickly ended as I got into the residential area. I felt the protected bike lanes tend to just randomly end around the downtown area. And given this is the heart of the downtown area, there’s lots of traffic and with the protected bike lanes gone, I had to pay a lot more attention to drivers.
My conclusion- if I rent a bike again in Victoria, I’d want to be there for 2 days. The first day I would ride on the various bike trails and head out as far as I can to experience the island outside of downtown and use the bike trails to take me to local spots to eat/drink away from the touristy areas. On day 2, I would spend the morning biking around Victoria utilizing their bike lanes to explore more of the city. Then in the afternoon, relax and walk around the Inner Harbour and be a tourist.
The other option, if I had to do this over again, is to just bike in Victoria. Skip the trails taking me out of the city. Explore the city by bike and then use the last few hours walking around Inner Harbour and staying more close-in to downtown.
Here are some random photos of my time in Victoria, BC
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